18 Likely Oscar Contenders And When You Can See Them

It may still be a ways off in the distance, but now that the summer blockbuster movie season is over—and 2015 was one of the biggest of all time—our focus naturally turns to the end of the year awards that are rapidly approaching. With the big fall film festivals either in full swing or on the way—the Venice Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival are in progress, while the Toronto International Film Festival kicks off later this week, followed by New York and AFI—a number of awards contenders are making their public debuts and the discussion about who will walk away with the biggies, specifically Oscar, is beginning in earnest.

With this in mind, no matter how far in advance it may seem, we put together a handy dandy list of some titles that may very well be in the Oscar race come the end of the year, and when you’ll have the chance to see them. A number of them are rolling out at the fall festivals, and because most of us aren’t fortunate enough to attend those shindigs, we’ll let you know when they’re slated to get a limited and wide release, at least if such things are scheduled—as these aren’t blockbusters, wide releases haven’t been set in stone for many of them. So take a look and let us know what you think will be competing for Oscar glory in the comments below, or if we missed some obvious choices (I already feel like I’m going to get yelled at for not including The Hateful Eight).

The Danish Girl

When It Premieres : September 5, 2015, Venice Film Festival

When It Starts Playing In Limited: November 27, 2015

When It Goes Wide: N/A

Though it just premiered, last year’s Best Actor winner Eddie Redmayne is already winning praise for his role in Tom Hooper’s (The King’s Speech) The Danish Girl. He plays Lili Elbe, a Danish artist who was the first known recipient of gender reassignment surgery. With an important, timely topic, and supporting cast that includes Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw, Amber Heard, and Mathias Schoenaerts, this is certainly one you’ll be hearing more about.